Ixiolirion tataricum - how hardy and long-lived is it?

On 3 Jun 06, at 10:20, Jane McGary wrote:
> I've bought bulbs of Ixiolirion tataricum several times...
> However, I've never managed to establish them in the garden. I
> don't know whether the bulbs are badly affected by storage and
> shipping, or whether they simply don't tolerate mild, wet winter
> conditions (as might be true of a steppe plant).
I have a patch here that flowers faithfully every year. I didn't
plant it -- some former owner did, but he got the site exactly right.
It's under a row of tall lodgepole pines where the soil is dry. Even
in mid-winte it's dryish. Almost nothing else will grow there:
Cyclamen hederifolium, usually a pretty tough plant, barely hangs on.
Perhaps the very acid conditions in a bed of pine needles has
something to do with the ixiolirion's success? And the site is pretty
shady, too.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island